Kevin's Test
by nanuka02
Summary: This story is the second in the series No Sunshine in These Skies. Kevin babysits his nieces, even though Beth still doesn't quite trust him yet.
1. Chapter 1

"Alright girls, so you know the drill. No funny business. If you need anything, give us a call and we'll leave the movie early. Phones'll be on silent, but we'll check them throughout. So we're good?" Annie and Tess looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.

Randall turned to his wife. "Ready, my queen?"

Beth, whose arms were folded as she stared disapprovingly at Kevin, motioned for Randall to wait. "Kevin, can I see you in the hall for a minute?"

"Yeah!" Kevin replied. He turned to his nieces. "Prepare yourselves, cuz we are gonna have so much fun," he grinned, and walked off to follow Beth. He could hear Tess and Annie giggling as he walked off, and he smiled. He was excited to get to spend some time with his nieces, even though the sharp glare Beth was giving him reminded him that this was a test.

"What's up?" Kevin kept his tone light and his face smiling. He didn't need to go into this conversation looking for an argument.

'You better not hurt them, Kevin."

His smile faltered. He'd known it was coming, but it was still painful that Beth felt she had to tell him this. Annie and Tess were two of the most precious people in the world to him. How could she ever think he would hurt them?

 _Because you already have._

"Kevin. Did you hear anything I just said, or is it just like, in one ear, out the other? Jeez." Beth rolled her eyes, sighed, and looked at her brother-in-law expectedly.

"No, I - Beth, I won't -," he started, then hung his head. "Look, I can't promise that I won't ever hurt them. I wish I could, but I can't. So I'll promise you that I will never do anything to intentionally hurt them. I mean, I'll do anything I can not to hurt them. I -"

Beth rolled her eyes again and held up a hand to signal him to stop talking. "That's not what I asked you to do. Don't hurt my daughters, Kevin Pearson. Full stop." She walked off to where Randall was waiting, and said her goodbyes to Annie and Tess.

Kevin nodded. "Right…," he muttered, and took in a deep breath. _Pull it together, Pearson. Time to be the fun uncle._

"Alright guys, so I have a ton of fun Kevin Pearson activities planned, but the question of the day is…" He paused and gestured to them dramatically. "What do _you_ want to do?"

Annie shot him a dubious look. "You're just saying that because you don't know what to do anymore, aren't you?"

Tess smirked, grinning at her uncle.

Kevin looked off to the side and hung his head, feigning embarrassment. "Yeah...not really. Ball's in your court. Got any ideas, Annie?"

She thought for a moment, then her face lit up. "Can we do a fashion show?"

Kevin grinned. "Of course, yeah! Whatever you want. That cool with you, Tess?"

Tess looked down and just shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "Can we just talk? I really miss you. And I miss Déja."

Kevin glanced over at Annie, who was looking impatient and bored. "Annie, how about you put together your first outfit, okay? Tess and I can catch up a bit, and we'll be down here when you're ready to go. Hallway's the runway."

Annie grinned. "Yay!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining.

Kevin grinned back. "I'll fix up a little snack for us afterwards."

"Ok!" Annie agreed happily. She rushed off upstairs.

Kevin looked over at Tess, who was sitting on the couch, slumped over, chin in her hands. "Mind if I join you?" Kevin asked.

Tess gave her uncle a soft smile. "Of course, Uncle Kevin," she replied.

He sat down on the cushion next to her. "You alright? You seem sad," Kevin said.

Tess sighed. "Yeah, but so do you," she said softly.

"I - what?" Kevin couldn't bring himself to look at his niece in that moment, instead focusing on the fabric of the couch cushion.

"You look like how I feel, Uncle Kevin. You try to be happy but then there are these quiet moments and I just feel sad because everyone leaves and everything just hurts. And I try to protect Annie from it, but I think it only works some of the time because she's been having nightmares. And I don't…"

She stopped, the words catching in her aching throat, tears starting to run down her face. Her uncle enveloped her in a hug, rubbing her back. She felt safe, and leaned her head on his shoulders. They sat like that for a minute before Kevin spoke.

"Hang on a sec," he said. "It's getting a little quiet up there. Let me check on your sister.

"Annie," he called up. "How're we doing up there?" There was a pause, then the sound of footsteps and a door opening a crack.

"Umm, wardrobe misfunction. Be down in a sec!" Annie's voice called out.

Kevin grinned. "I think you mean _mal_ function, sweetie. But that's okay, you can't rush greatness. We'll be ready for you, okay? Just let us know when you're coming down."

"Okay!" Annie said.

Kevin walked back to Tess. "Sweetie, I'm sorry to hear you're feeling this way. But I'm glad you're telling me about it. When did this start?"

Tess shrugged. "I guess around when Déja left. It's just been so hard. William came, and he was the best, and I loved having a grandpa around. But then he was so sick, and then...he died. And then Déja came, and it was like having a big sister. And now she's gone, too. I mean, she didn't die or anything, but what if I never see her again? It's all just too much."

Tess grabbed a pillow from the couch and hugged it, looking at her uncle with eyes more serious than a child's her age should be. "What about you, Uncle Kevin? What makes you sad?"

He paused. He didn't want to go into everything, but his niece had just told him what was hurting her - he could at least return the favor.

"Well, uh, you know, I'm missing some people, too."

"Your dad?" Tess asked, knowingly.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah," he whispered. "And, I've, uh, I've made a lot of mistakes lately, Tess. I've done some things that I'm not proud of. And I want to apologize. Honey, I'm so sorry for scaring you like that. I never should've gotten behind the wheel that day. I love you so much, I would never want to hurt you. And I hope you can feel safe around me. I hope you can trust me again."

Tess wrapped her arms around her uncle, just as he had done for her a few minutes ago. It would feel weird to rub his back, so she just squeezed him tightly.

"Mmm. Thank you, Tess. I needed that," Kevin confessed.

She smiled up at him. "I know my mom's still mad, but I'm not. I forgive you, Uncle Kevin. And I love you and I trust you. You make me feel safe, and you always listen. You did scare me that day, a lot, but...I don't know. Somehow I'm not mad. Maybe I'm supposed to hate you or something, but I don't."

She frowned. "Don't cry, Uncle Kevin," she said. He was looking at the floor again and rubbing furiously at his eyes.

"You're a very special girl, you know that?" Kevin said. Tess smiled, but before she could reply, she heard her little sister screaming from upstairs.

"I'm ready! I'm ready! But don't look! Don't look yet!"

Kevin swatted his eyes again and cleared his throat before flashing Tess an encouraging smile. He hoped that Annie was too excited to notice the tear tracks.

"Okay, our eyes are closed! Let's have our model come on down."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: My deep and sincere apologies for letting this go a whole year without updating. I am working on this one, Midnight Calls, and all of my other unfinished fanfiction. Thank you so much to those who have read thus far, and especially to those who have taken the time to give me a review! I hope you enjoy. Please note that I have taken a great deal of time to do research, and try to make everything realistic. That being said, if you find any technical mistakes in my writing, feel free to (kindly) point them out. And without further ado, here is the second chapter.**

Annie scurried upstairs to change outfits, and Tess and Kevin returned to the couch.

"Uncle Kevin? Can I ask you something?" Tess asked in a small voice.

"Anything," Kevin said.

"Well, it's just that you...said some stuff. In the car…I wanted to ask you about it before, but not with my mom listening," Tess said. She took in a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say, and in that breath, there was the sound of glass breaking in the back of the house.

Their heads jerked towards the sound, and Kevin stood, taking his niece by the arm. Tess looked up at him, eyes wide. "Uncle Kevin," she said nervously.

"Hide," he whispered urgently. Pulling out his phone, he dialed 911. Holding the phone with one hand and his niece's elbow in the other, he looked around the room quickly before leading her over to the curtains. Kevin pulled back the floral material just enough for her to fit behind it. He'd never been more glad that they had floor-length curtains in the living room.

"Don't make a sound," Kevin instructed. Tess nodded, shaking, fear evident in her eyes. "It'll be okay," he said, squeezing her shoulder quickly before pulling back the curtain.

Kevin whispered his brother's address and the situation into the phone. The voice on the other end told him to get out out of the house if he could, but Kevin kept thinking of Annie upstairs. He hoped she would stay up there.

He could hear voices and footsteps from the other room, and he quickly scanned the room for something he could use as a weapon. He mostly just saw pillows and the drawing materials that Annie had left scattered on the wooden table. His eyes landed on a small vase resting on a narrow table between two of the windows.

He reached for it, but a voice stopped him.

"Hang up the phone." Kevin froze. " _Now,_ " the voice demanded. In that moment, Kevin was aware of two things: the vase he'd been about to pick up suddenly shattered beside him, the sound of a gunshot filled the room. Kevin ducked, covering his face from the ceramic splinters. Tess, to her credit, stayed quiet somehow, though Kevin thought he saw the curtain rustling. The gunman either didn't notice or didn't care.

"That was your only warning. Now hang up the phone."

Kevin quickly pressed the red button on his phone, letting it fall to the floor as he raised both hands above his head.

"Good. Now turn around."

Heart racing, Kevin turned to face the intruder, startled a bit when he found himself facing three. Two of them were busy stuffing valuables into large black bags. The third, the man pointing the gun at him, was large - a little shorter than Kevin but he looked to be almost 100 pounds heavier. Not the type of guy that Kevin could win against in a fight. Not that he'd try - not with that gun firmly in his hands, pointing straight at Kevin. And not when he had his two nieces to protect.

 _Don't hurt my daughters, Kevin Pearson. Full stop._

"On your knees. Keep your hands up," the gunman said sharply. Kevin obeyed.

"Now beg."

Kevin's head shot up. He was glad he was at least kneeling, because he felt as if he might pass out.

"Beg!"

"I - you - please, you don't have to do this," Kevin stuttered. He felt sick to his stomach, and it was all so much worse knowing that Tess was right there, having to keep still and quiet.

The man smiled. "Yeah. Just like that."

"C'mon, please, you don't have to do this," Kevin repeated. "You haven't hurt anyone so far. You don't have to do this."

"Can't think of anything else to say, huh?" Kevin stayed silent.

"You married?"

Kevin shook his head.

"Kids?"

"No," Kevin said hoarsely, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Hmm. No one to miss you."

"Please," Kevin said, his voice barely a whisper this time. He'd expected to continue with _Please don't kill me._ But instead he cried out, "If you're going to kill me, just get it over with."

The man smirked, and then started laughing. Kevin was sitting here, on his knees, with a gun pointed at him from just a few feet away, and this man was _laughing at him_.

"So I'd be doing you a favor, huh?"

Kevin could only sob and shake his head.

The gun finally lowered. "Let's go, boys," the man said. "Our job here's done."

The two others headed towards the back of the house, the gunman following. He stopped just before leaving the living room and turned around.

"A little present for you," he said to Kevin.

A second shot rang out.


	3. Chapter 3

The warning shot saved her.

Annie had just been about to fling her bedroom door open and race down the stairs when she'd heard it. It sounded a lot like the fireworks that she liked to watch on New Year's Eve and on the Fourth of July, but those sounds were happy. They made her feel safe and loved, because whenever she heard fireworks, she was surrounded by family.

But this sound had been different. It scared her. And she was all alone. Annie didn't like it. She was at home, and that was supposed to make her feel like a warm hug, like the ones her Grandpa William used to give, like the ones her mom and dad gave her everyday.

Worse, perhaps, she wasn't sure what to do. She suddenly felt silly in her dress-up clothes, and she let the pink frilly scarf slip from its haphazard position on her neck to the hardwood floor.

She walked to the door and carefully opened it, just a crack, and listened for clues from downstairs. She heard the sound of a lot of things being moved around, and she also heard unfamiliar voices. That was certainly strange - Uncle Kevin was watching them, and they weren't allowed to have guests over today. And even if they had been allowed to invite a friend, she would've recognized their voice. Unless…

Gasping, she shut the door as a terrifying thought came into her head. _What if someone's in the house?_

Now she wished that she hadn't been so quick to shut the door, because now she had to call the police, and her parents hadn't given her a cell phone yet. That meant that she needed to open the door again, dash across the hall - making sure to avoid the creaky spot by the stairs - and go into her parent's bedroom to use the phone. Sniffling, she grabbed her stuffed pig, Porky, for support. And then she opened the door.

Kevin knew he must've passed out, because he found himself crumpled over on the floor. He felt a dull sort of ache in his chest, and he felt very tired.

He could hear sobbing, and knew it was Tess. _She must be terrified. And Annie...she probably doesn't even know what's going on. They must be so scared._ He wanted to walk over to her and hug her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. And he would do just that, as soon as his limbs decided to cooperate. He decided to settle on talking.

"Tess?" He waited a moment, and when he didn't hear anything, continued. "Sweetie, it's okay to come out now.

"The police are on their way. They should be here any minute."

All he heard was more crying. _Beth is gonna kill me._ He swallowed. _If I don't die first_.

As if some sort of mental fog had lifted, Kevin realized that he was lying in a pool of blood. His blood.

"Tess," he called out again. "I need you to come out, sweetie. Everything's gonna be okay, I just need you to help me." But he thought his voice sounded weak, not encouraging, and his words slurred at the end.

Now his mouth wasn't cooperating either, and those words had worn him out. He knew that he was supposed to try to stay awake, but his eyes slid close anyway. And he was just so tired.

He didn't bother trying to open them again.

Tess was still behind the curtain when she started hearing sirens. Curled up in a ball, the curtain draped over her as she sat there, shaking. And crying.

Once the tears had started coming out, she couldn't stop them, even though all the crying was making her nose run and her head hurt, and she just wanted it all to stop. She knew that she should probably go help Uncle Kevin, or get Annie, or call her parents, but she couldn't. She couldn't move, except for the shaking, but she couldn't stop that either.

She felt as though she were in a terrible dream as she heard the sounds of the police and paramedics arriving. When an officer found her and finally led her away from her hiding spot, she seemed to be watching herself move her body rather than actually being in charge of her own limbs.

The voice of her mother entered her awareness, and she felt arms wrap around her. "It's okay baby, we're here now, it's going to be alright. Everything's gonna be alright now."

She felt the words settle over her as a physical feeling, as if the words themselves had turned into dust. _It's going to be alright._ She gripped the blanket tighter around her. She didn't remember anyone putting it over her shoulders, but it was there now, and she clung to it as if it were Life itself. _It's going to be alright._


End file.
